Emma Swett

Articles

Matt Strangio crosses the finish line to win the WCC. Photo courtesy of Portland Pilot Athletics.

Film and a shaved head: How to prepare for a championship win

The night before the race ended with watching the film of some of his best races. The morning of the race started out light with a protein bar, nothing too heavy. The talks before the race with his coach consisted of strategy: be cautious, be conservative. Once the race began, however, it was a different story. On Oct. 28 in Malibu, California, Matt Strangio became the 2023 West Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country individual champion. 

Women's tennis doubles team Sally Pethybridge (left) and Iva Zelic (right) pose for a picture during a practice.

Doubles Culture: How Sally Pethyridge and Iva Zelic find success

In May of 2023, Sally Pethyridge and Iva Zelic became the first UP Women’s Doubles Tennis Team to have cracked the national rankings at No. 68.  As Zelic embarks on her fifth and final season as a member of the UP women’s tennis team and Pethyridge enters her third, the two accredit their success to the 10 girls they call their teammates. 

Dan Seabeck and Eli Wingfield work on Merlo Field.

The Unspoken Heroes of Chiles

Imagine the Chiles Center. The great white dome sits at the edge of campus. Home to many University of Portland sporting events, Rock the Bluff, graduation and even a Dalai Lama speech in 2013 — the Chiles Center is a place that has seen trials and triumphs, success and loss and holds a million memories. There are two people who have been there for it all: Dan Seabeck and Eli Wingfield, the unspoken heroes of Chiles.

The men's cross country team racing. Photo courtesy of Jason De Leon.

Why rankings matter, or don’t: cross country’s keys to success

With both the men’s and women’s cross-country teams projected to finish first in the West Coast Conference this season they must be doing something right, right? A look into the long-standing success of the Pilots’ cross-country teams revealed the great perspective they have around the rankings, as well as their keys to success.

B